Scammers often take advantage of a timely event, like a high-profile piece of malware that is infecting many computers. The average, non-computer savvy employee gets nervous with the technicality of what the "IT person" on the phone is telling them.

"Eventually, I say 'Look, why don't I fix this for you? Give me your password and I will deal with it and call you back when I am done,'" said Nickerson.

The strategy plays on a person's fear and lack of comfort with tech, said Nickerson.

Also known as a 419 scam, social networking sites, like Facebook, are where this ruse typically takes place these days. Scammers often hack into accounts and message the person’s friends, claiming to be trapped in a foreign country with no money.

"The claim is often that they were robbed while traveling and the person asks the Facebook friend to wire money so everything can be fixed," said Graham Cluley of Sophos in 9 dirty tricks.

This con is rampant on Facebook and Twitter and involves a question that piques the user's interest and then directs them to a fake login screen.

In 5 Facebook, Twitter scams to avoid, Sophos’ Cluley notes it is a classic phishing ploy. Social engineers may be looking for your account information in order to send spam, or pose as you in order to pull off a 419 scam like the one mentioned previously.

Another line to get you to panic, the social engineer is often hoping you will hand over your bank account information in order to make everything right again.

In ACH fraud: Why criminals love this con, Deb Geister of LexisNexis explains this trick, usually delivered via phishing email can prompt recipients to open a fake message. Once the recipient opens the email, a Trojan is placed on their system that is exceptionally good at stealing sensitive data, and it is especially interested in online banking credentials.

In a famous scene in the social engineering classic "Sneakers," Robert Redford pretends to be a father (complete with birthday cake) late for his daughter’s birthday party while another cohort acts as a delivery person. The tag team manages to distract and fluster the guard at the door enough to easily get Redford into the building without the proper credentials.

Shortly after a major earthquake, tsunami or other disaster, fake donation sites often pop up. SANS Security recently observed this trend after Hurricane Sandy, warning that scammers had quickly registered thousands of domains with words such as "relief" and "Sandy."

The goal is to dupe well-meaning individuals into submitting donations for relief efforts. Of course, those who donate to these fraudulent sites often find their credit card information, and money, is stolen instead.

In 7 Scrooge-worthy scams for the holidays, Beth Jones, a senior threat researcher with Sophos, notes the free gift card offers are really just an identity theft gimmick in disguise with the goal of stealing your information to sell if off for profit. Avoid them. Retailers are not giving out free gift cards just because you fill out a survey.

This tactic is also common on Tumblr and Pinterest notes Christopher Boyd, senior threat researcher at GFI Software 5 scams on Tumblr, Pinterest.